The Booksellers Association has today revealed Faraway the Southern Sky: A Novel by Joseph Andras as Fiction Book of the Month, and Gordon the Meanest Goose on Earth by Alex Latimer as Children’s Book of the Month for June.    
 
Independent bookshops around the UK and Ireland will be promoting Faraway the Southern Sky: A Novel and Gordon the Meanest Goose on Earth throughout June on social media and in-store. The Booksellers Association will be supporting the promotion of the Indie Books of the Month through social media and promotional material.

Faraway the Southern Sky: A Novel is an intensely lyrical, genre-bending meditation of the poor, the free, the outcast, and the rebellious. Fleeing persecution in Indochina, the young Ho Chi Minh arrived in Paris as World War I was sputtering to a close. A painfully shy twentysomething who stammered when he spoke in public, he joined the shadowy figures of the demimonde, the radicals, poor artists, sex workers, the luckless, and rebellious. Faraway the Southern Sky: A Novel is published by Verso Fiction (21^st May 2024) and is available to buy in bookshops now.
 
Mark Dyce-Stagg, bookseller at Hewson Books and member of the selection panel, commented: “Fiction used at its finest. The striking narrative carries with it truths that highlights the story of a man that, before now, was just a black and white photo giving context to the Vietnam War.”
 
Gordon the Meanest Goose on Earth follows the story of one mean goose called Gordon. There are plenty of mean geese in the world. You’ve probably met one. But Gordon is the worst. He stomps on sandcastles, punches sharks, and shouts at babies—he’s the worst, and he loves it. Until one day, when Gordon has been particularly mean, Anthony the piglet hands him a flower. And with this one act of kindness, Gordon’s world begins to crumble. Gordon the Meanest Goose on Earth is published by Oxford University Press and is available to pre-order now, ahead of release on 6^th June.
 
Alex Latimer said: “I love independent bookshops – they’re so often the heart of vibrant, interesting, engaged communities and certainly my go-to for the weird and wonderful books I enjoy.”
 
The Indie Book of the Month titles are selected by panels of booksellers from publisher submissions. The Children’s panel for June comprised members from Borzoi Bookshop, Sevenoaks Bookshop and Jaffe & Neale. The Fiction panel were from City Books, Hewson Books and The Book Nook, Tollesbury. The titles were also available to be voted on by all participating bookshops on Edelweiss.
 
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